A BRAND new boat stolen from a Hampshire club that helps disabled people learn to waterski has been found.

The Centurion Carbo Pro was discovered in perfect condition and has already been collected by members of Ellingham Waterski and Wakeboard Club, which is based near Ringwood.

The American-made boat was found abandoned by Hampshire Constabulary's marine unit at a disused industrial site in West End.

Club manager Chris Mullins said the craft, one of only four of its type in the UK, appeared to have been dumped by the thieves following intense publicity surrounding the theft.

Mr Mullins had previously described the specially-equipped boat as “too unique” to sell and had appealed to the thieves to abandon the craft rather than destroy it.

Asked about the boat’s recovery he said: “We’re really happy to have it back and plan to start using it again in ten minutes.”

The boat was taken from Ellingham Lake on Monday night, just two weeks after it was delivered in time for the start of the busy summer season.

PC Matt Gransden, from Hampshire Constabulary's Marine Unit, said: “Following really good information from a member of our marine community, through Project Kraken, the Marine Unit were led to this site and located the boat intact. The owners are thrilled.

“Project Kraken is a national marine security initiative, a bit like a huge neighbourhood watch on the water, where we work with key stakeholders in the marine community, giving them information and updates about things such as this theft.

“They are our eyes on the water and we have a really good relationship with them. We are very interactive with them and make sure that they give us information on anything they see.

“As we have seen today, we get good results from it.”